Our history
The Foment de Perpinyà, whose full name is Foment de la sardana de Perpinyà Esbart dels reis de Mallorca, has existed since 1931.
At the beginning, the objective was to bring to life the sardana, an emblematic Catalan dance. But very quickly, his ambition becomes greater.
The Foment de Perpinyà wants to become the ambassador of Catalan folklore. This is how he introduced ballets into his performances. It is a rich and varied folklore because it covers a vast geographical area. Even today, our objective is to perpetuate and promote the Catalan tradition through its dances, its music, its songs and its costumes. The group continues to evolve every day thanks to young people who come to join us and who help to energize the group and perpetuate Catalan traditions.
To achieve this, we strive to produce a quality show composed of 4 scenes:
For more than 50 years, Le Foment de Perpinyà has had its musicians. The whole thing is called a Rondalla. It is mainly composed of bandurrias, lutes, sharkto and guitars. These are plucked string instruments.
Our traditional group is made up of around fifty members, all volunteers. We travel with our bus
Finally, thanks to the quality of our show, we are certified by CIOFF (International Council of Folklore and Traditional Arts Festival Organizations, official partner of UNESCO). It is a guarantee of quality which allows us to access the most beautiful festivals. To name just a few: Amélie les Bains, Confolens, Gannat, Pujols, Romans sur Isère, Castelmoron sur Lot, Montrejeau, Segré, etc.
Our different appearances, unforgettable experiences
Cinema
We appeared in the film “Together, we are going to live a very, very great love story” alongside Julien DORÉ , Marina HANDS and Guillaume GALLIENNE
We have had the honor of French television on several occasions. In particular with:
“Tender age and wooden head”
“The pretty Sardana” by Charles TRENET
Summer parade
Galas Sacha DISTEL, Claude FRANCOIS, Marcel AMONT
The Song Companions
Alain BARRIERE
“The Four Seasons” by Danielle GILBERT
The Telethon
Television
The Senate
The Foment de Perpinya also performed in the Senate courtyard.
the prince imperial
from Japan
During our trip to Japan, we were able to meet Takahito MIKASA , Imperial Prince of Japan. He gave us a diploma written in his hand.
International stages
and finally, A disaster...
July 27, 1964. A deadly summer for the Foment de Perpinyà, our group of dancers and musicians is the victim of a bus accident on the road to Vittel, shortly after leaving Hareville-sous-Monfort, in the Vosges. A badly negotiated S-bend on a bridge, then it's the fall, eleven meters lower, on a railway track. The toll of the tragedy is terrible: 20 dead, seven injured, two of them seriously.
Catalonia is in mourning and France in shock. The archives of L'Indépendant bear witness to the pain of the families. Thus, the identification of the bodies gave rise to upsetting scenes, while a considerable crowd attended the arrival of the coffins in front of the town hall and on the Place de la Loge, not to mention the expressions of solidarity from all over Europe. Fifty years later, a memorial ceremony will be held in the Moulin-à-vent church, behind which there is a commemorative plaque. The adjoining boulevard is named Foment-de-la-sardane by the former mayor Paul Alduy.
Ambassador of Catalan folklore since its creation in 1931, El Foment has never ceased to rise from its ashes throughout its rich history. Resurrecting El Foment was a duty. It was a way of respecting the memory of the refugees from Southern Catalonia, who had founded the sardana group, a hymn to their traditions. El Foment de Perpinyà, folklore of ballets and musicians that received the artistic quality label from CIOFF (International Council of Folklore and Traditional Arts Festival Organizations), perpetuates the tradition.
